During his first day on the job, a trainee paramedic named Yao tends to a middle-aged woman named Masha at her desk in a Sydney office. He’s determined not to make mistakes. Masha continues to insist that she’s well and tries to take a meeting, though her personal assistant reveals that she turned white and slid from her chair. Masha collapses again. Yao’s colleague, Finn, realizes that she’s having a heart attack. Yao curses his failure to diagnose Masha, and they try but fail to reestablish her heart rhythm.

Ten years later, a former bestselling romance novelist named Frances Welty drives alone through the bushland north of Sydney. In the two weeks since her partner Paul Drabble went missing, she has developed various aches and pains. She drives to Tranquillum House, an unconventional but life-changing “boutique health and wellness resort” (10) recommended by her friend Ellen. Frances signs up for a “Ten-Day Mind and Body Total Transformation Retreat” (11) that involves relaxing activities and a strict, healthy diet. She lies on the intrusive application form and reads the mixed online reviews, some of which mentioned legal action and traumatic experiences.